Pushing for education reform in SC

Two new and separate efforts in South Carolina are seeking to improve public education.

Long-time education activist Bud Ferillo, who produced a shocking 2005 film on the poor educational offerings in poor South Carolina counties (see Corridor of Shame), is trying to get 1,000,000 signatures in an online petition supporting a pro-public education constitutional amendment. Hence: GoodbyeMinimallyAdequate.com.

In 2005, a state court ruled that the state of South Carolina had a responsibility to provide only a "minimally adequate" public education. The ruling, which will be heard on appeal in June by the state Supreme Court, has spawned the amendment effort to add a constitutional requirement for the state to "provide a high quality education, allowing each student to reach his highest potential."

Another new public education effort is by former state Superintendent of Education Inez Tenenbaum, who wants state lawmakers to provide better funding for schools, particularly those in poverty areas. Hence: RISE SC, which "represents a network of individuals, businesses and advocacy organizations committed to improving the lives of South Carolinians through comprehensive and sustained reform of our public education system."

"We hope it will become a 'league of education voters,' in much the same way as the League of Conservation Voters is," Tenenbaum told S.C. Statehouse Report in a new story on both organizations.

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